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28 February 2012

Sleep in The Button Factory/Dublin

Sleep - That's what you shouldn't do on this Wednesday the 23rd of May 2012. The Black Sabbath influenced Doom Rockers from San Jose/California will be playing a gig in The Button Factory here in Dublin and you definitely should not miss this gig. For those who are not familiar with Sleep, check out the video below. It's the one hour track "Dopesmoker" which has only been released in full length in 2003 on TeePee Records. A shortened bootleg version was released by Sleep themselves somewhen last century.
For those who are familiar with the Band, see you in the Button Factory when these lads are on stage.

Early Years
Sleep evolved in the early 1990s from the band Asbestosdeath, which was established by vocalist/bassist Al Cisneros, drummer Chris Hakius, and guitarist Tom Choi. Asbestosdeath expanded to a quartet with the introduction of Matt Pike on guitar, and recorded two singles - "Dejection" for Profane Existence and the self released "Unclean". Choi departed, and would later found Operator Generator, It Is I, Noothgrush, and Las Vegas' Black Jetts. Asbestosdeath recruited Justin Marler as replacement and the band adopted the new name, Sleep.

Recording Era
Their debut album Volume One was released in 1991. Frequently compared to bands like Saint Vitus, Sleep soon gained a devoted fanbase within the developing doom metal scene. Marler quit the band soon after to take up life as a monk, leaving the band as a power trio for the recording of their Volume Two EP, which was released officially by Off The Disk Records in 1991.
The band's next album was sent to the independent label, Earache, as a demo. Recorded at Razors Edge studios in San Francisco, with Billy Anderson handling production, the tape showcased Sleep's love of all things retro, from the blatant Black Sabbath/Blue Cheer influences, to their fixation with 1970's-style tube amplification. The label immediately signed the band and released the tape exactly as it was received.

Sleep's Holy Mountain (1992) is widely considered a seminal album in the evolution of stoner metal. The album's release was followed by a potentially lucrative offer from London Records, and Sleep signed with them. Around this time, Earache released its first Black Sabbath Tribute album, and Sleep contributed a cover of "Snowblind".
Under their new contract, they began work on their third album, Dopesmoker, in 1995. Much to the dismay of executives at London records, Dopesmoker was a single song more than one hour long. London Records declared the album unmarketable and refused to release it. Sleep returned to the studio and then submitted their second attempt at the new album. They had retitled it Jerusalem, re-written some of the lyrics and trimmed it down to a "lean" 52 minutes, but it was essentially the same as Dopesmoker. London Records again refused to release it. Frustrated and generally unhappy with the situation, the members of Sleep decided to disband.

Reunion
In May 2009, Sleep reformed to perform two exclusive reunion sets in England as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival. In the shows the band performed for the first time a song that had previously been intended for inclusion on, and wrote during the Dopesmoker recording sessions and widely unheard entitled 'Antarcticans Thawed'.
On November 19, 2009 Al Cisneros confirmed in an interview with The Obelisk that Sleep will be reuniting in the fall of 2010 for some US dates. It has also been confirmed that Jason Roeder (of experimental metal band Neurosis) will replace Chris Hakius on drums.
The group are confirmed to play the ATP New York 2010 music festival in Monticello, New York this September where they will perform Holy Mountain in its entirety. They are touring the rest of the United States, playing headlining dates and festivals, through September.
Sleep embarked on a 9-date US tour shortly after the All Tomorrow's Parties festival.
During 2011, Sleep were confirmed as an act for the 2012 annual music festival, San Miguel Primavera Sound, taking place in Barcelona over late May and early June.
On April 14, 2012, Sleep will headline the 17th annual Roadburn Festival. A band statement for which reads “Sleep are honored to attend the Symposium of Iommic Research, Tilburg at Roadburn”. In May 2012 the band will support Slayer at the All Tomorrow's Parties 'I'll Be Your Mirror' festival at Alexandra Palace, London.